WORCESTER 
State officials had “serious concerns” about the financial management of the beleaguered Henry Lee Willis Community Center and have referred the matter to law enforcement authorities.

In a letter sent Monday to Mayor Joseph M. Petty, Marilyn Anderson Chase, the assistant secretary for children and families at the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, said those anxieties prompted state regulators to yank about $11 million in contracts to the 30-year-old, Worcester-based organization.

Ms. Chase wrote that she could not elaborate about the state's worries because of potential investigations of the Willis Center. An HHS spokesman told the Telegram & Gazette Monday night that the agency's issues have been sent to law enforcement authorities.

The center is expected to close its doors on Wednesday. The shutdown will result in the loss of 158 full- and part-time jobs.

State officials said that most of the contracts held by the center have been transferred to other agencies. In the letter to Mr. Petty, Ms. Chase said state officials will meet with Worcester providers interested in acquiring similar contracts in the future.

The news last month of the Willis Center closing rocked the local African-American community. The organization was established in the 1980s at the behest of local blacks, who said there was a need for a social service agency that could specifically address their wants.

The closure also has infuriated the city's political leadership, with a number of city councilors saying that the state has not been forthcoming with information.

The City Council had asked the HHS to send a representative to a meeting Monday of its Public Health and Human Services Committee. The three-member board, along with many who showed up at the well-attended hearing at City Hall, clearly were not happy when no representative showed up.

In the letter to Mr. Petty, Ms. Chase, the senior state official involved in the transition of services from the Willis Center, said she could not attend the hearing but gave no reason.

“There are plenty of questions but no answers,” said Councilor Konstantina B. Lukes, who chairs the committee.

At another point in the meeting, Mrs. Lukes said the city was “getting the brush-off.”

During the 90-minute hearing, the state also came under fire from a number of city residents, members and clergy of the minority communities, and clients of programs offered by the center.

“We're being treated like trash,” said Jo Hart, a Worcester resident. “We need to get this (issue) straightened out.”

Another resident charged that the state was acting “like a dictatorship.”

Terry Kelly of Worcester questioned how the state could close the center if it hadn't completed any formal investigation. She urged the city to go to court and seek an injunction to keep Willis open.

The Rev. Clyde D. Talley, the pastor of Belmont A.M.E. Zion Church, added that the state had shown “a lack of respect” for the local community in the matter.

He said many nonprofits act more like corporations as they get bigger and forget their social service missions.

Patricia Yancey, the president of the Worcester branch of the NAACP, said she was concerned about the “lack of transparency” regarding the pending closing and added that she hoped there was enough diversity among the staff of the agencies taking over Willis contracts.

William S. Coleman III, a community activist, said public hearings should have been held before the state took action. He said the lack of answers should prompt city officials to ask Gov. Deval Patrick to step in or to get the Worcester delegation on Beacon Hill more actively involved.

Mr. Coleman said the silence about the center contrasted sharply with the discussions and hearings that occurred decades ago when Prospect House failed.

William Breault, chairman of the Main South Alliance for Public Safety, a neighborhood watch group, said he was worried that many of the properties owned by Willis will fall into the hands of the South Middlesex Opportunity Council.

Over the years, Mr. Breault has clashed with the Framingham-based organization about the services offered in his neighborhood, including the operation of the People in Peril shelter at 701 Main St.

District 4 Councilor Sarai Rivera, a member of the Health Committee, said she was upset because the state bypassed qualified, local agencies who could have picked up some of the Willis' contract in favor of larger, out-of-town ones.

“This is an extreme injustice,” said the Rev. Jose A. Encarcion, who is Ms. Rivera's husband.

Ms. Lukes said the council will continue to fight for answers but noted there is little municipalities can do in the awarding of social service contracts.

Robert Kievra of the Telegram & Gazette staff contributed to this report.